What’s Come Over You: (None)

Marian Thurm, whose two earlier books of short stories dazzled the literary world, has returned with a stunning volume of short fiction remarkable for its insight, narrative drive, and most of all, for uproarious humor spun from the threads of poignancy. With a vast understanding of human nature, Thurm writes from the point of view of a rabbi whose wife has announced to the congregation that she is leaving him; a gay man facing his best friend’s wedding; an adolescent girl riding around with her taxi-driver mother; and a young woman teaching in a rough, inner-city school. Hard-bitten, contemporary dialogue, and an uncanny choice of emotional and atmospheric detail will most certainly rank Thurm among the best contemporary practitioners of the short story and have resonance within a broad spectrum of readership.